In Wake Of San Francisco Crash, Anxiety Among Some Airline Passengers Runs High

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NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) — Nervousness and anxiety are common for some fliers on the best days, but the crash of Asiana Flight 214 has a lot of passengers feeling nervous about walking down the jet-way.

As CBS 2’s Bigad Shaban reported ‘aviophobia’ is the medical term for a fear of flying, and reports have shown that as many as 50-percent of fliers may suffer from it at some point in their life. At La Guardia Airport on Sunday that number seemed higher.

“I’m sweating but I have to get where I’m going,” one passenger told CBS 2.

Experts explained that there are a number of things that fliers can do to improve their chances of surviving in the event of an accident.

“If you have the choice, sit on an aisle near an exit, because this way, you’re able to get out without anybody impeding your progress,” Nancy Harvey Steorts explained, “If possible, wear natural fibers, because if you’re wearing synthetics, they can burn much more quickly.”

Fatal airline accidents have dropped significantly in the past decade.